Hearing aids with rechargeable batteries are well known in the art. It is also well known to use a conventional charging device for recharging hearing aid batteries. However, the rechargeable battery has to be removed from the hearing aid and inserted in the charging device. After recharging the battery, the battery has to be re-inserted into the hearing aid.
Handling and replacement of batteries for a hearing aid is typically a difficult task for the hearing aid user, especially to disabled users, e.g. users with impaired vision and/or shaking hands. The handling difficulty is mainly due to the small size of the batteries, compartments for the batteries, and covers that must be opened to get access to the batteries. The operational time of hearing aid batteries is short and thus, frequent replacement of batteries is required.
WO 03/067734 discloses a method of supplying electrical power to the circuitry of a hearing aid, wherein a rechargeable battery is permanently fastened inside a battery lid or battery drawer of a hearing aid, and wherein the poles of the battery are available for contacting from the outside when the battery lid or drawer is open. The hearing aid is inserted into a charging device for charging the battery with the battery drawer or lid in the open position whereby connecting means of the charging device contacts the two poles of the hearing aid battery. A charging device for charging a hearing aid battery in a hearing aid is also disclosed. However, the hearing aid user still has to open and close the battery lid or drawer manually in order to charge a battery.
It is an object to provide a battery charger for rechargeable batteries in hearing aids that minimizes user-handling requirements.
In accordance with some embodiments, the above-mentioned and other objects are fulfilled by a battery charger for charging a rechargeable battery which is located in a hearing aid, the battery charger comprising a power supply for supplying a charging current to the rechargeable battery, a hearing aid connector for reception and accommodation of the hearing aid, the connector having a set of first electrical terminals connected with the power supply and positioned for connection with the rechargeable battery when the hearing aid is positioned in the connector, and an actuator adapted for providing access to the battery for connection with the first electrical terminals when the hearing aid is positioned in the connector.
The hearing aid may be a Behind the Ear (BTE), In the Ear (ITE), In the Canal (ITC) or Completely In the Canal (CIC), or another type of hearing aid.
Typically, a battery is accommodated in a hearing aid housing in a compartment formed by a support structure in the hearing aid housing that allows access to the battery poles for power supply of hearing aid circuitry by the battery. The support structure includes a battery cover, such as a battery lid or battery door, that can be opened by the user allowing the user to access and exchange batteries. The support structure may be arranged so that the battery is drawn out of the hearing aid housing together with a battery lid like a drawer, or a battery door may be hinged to the hearing aid housing so that it swings open thereby withdrawing the battery from the hearing aid housing in a rotational movement. The hearing aid is turned off when the battery cover is opened, and the hearing aid is turned on when the battery cover is fully closed.
It is an important advantage that the user is not required to perform any handling of the hearing aid battery in order to recharge the battery. When the user inserts the hearing aid into the battery charger, the battery cover, such as a battery lid or a battery door, to the battery compartment is automatically opened whereby the hearing aid is turned off and access is provided for the first electrical terminals of the battery charger to the battery poles so that the power supply may recharge the battery. The actuator may be adapted for engaging with and opening a battery cover of the hearing aid when the hearing aid is positioned in the connector, e.g. during insertion of the hearing aid into the connector, thereby allowing access to the battery for connection with the first electrical terminals.
The fact that the hearing aid is automatically turned off in the battery charger prevents the hearing aid from emitting sounds during charging and eliminates power consumption of the hearing aid circuitry during charging so that the duration of charging is minimized. Further, the hearing aid may perform data logging of various types of data relating to the operation and performance of the hearing aid in operation, for example a history of user-selected events such as changes between different signal processing algorithms, individual utilisation periods of the signal processing algorithms, statistical data relating to physical or psychological characteristics of the environments input signal data, etc. The fact that the hearing aid is turned off during charging prevents the data logging circuitry from storing useless data during the charging operation.
The battery charger is preferably enclosed in a battery charger housing. The housing encloses the hearing aid connector and has an opening for insertion of the hearing aid into the housing for support by the hearing aid connector. Further, the battery charger housing has at least one guide member positioned in relation to the opening for guiding the hearing aid towards the set of first electrical terminals during insertion of the hearing aid in the battery charger.
The actuator may be positioned in relation to the opening and the at least one guide member in such a way that it engages with and automatically opens the battery cover of the hearing aid during insertion of the hearing aid in the battery charger.
The battery charger may further comprise a closing member to partly close the battery cover of the hearing aid during removal of the hearing aid from the battery charger. The closing member may be positioned in relation to the opening and the at least one guide member in such a way that it pushes the battery cover into a partly closed position during removal of the hearing aid from the battery charger.
The battery cover of the hearing aid is preferably partly but not fully closed when the user removes the hearing aid from the battery charger. The partly closure of the battery cover ensures that the battery does not inadvertently fall out of its compartment in the hearing aid housing and also allows the user to turn the hearing aid on at a later time when the hearing aid is not needed immediately after charging.
The opening and the at least one guide member may be located in a removable part of the connector facilitating cleaning or substitution with a new part for hygienic reasons. The closing member may also be located in the removable part of the connector.
The removable part may be made of a soft material, such as silicone.
The removable part is preferably adapted for cleaning in a dish washing machine for ease of cleaning.
The removable part of the connector may have walls defining an internal volume for accommodation of a hearing aid during charging of its rechargeable battery. The walls may form guide members for guiding the hearing aid towards the set of first electrical terminals during insertion of the hearing aid into the connector.
The connector may be movably positioned in the battery charger between an idle position for insertion of the hearing aid into the connector and a charging position for charging the rechargeable battery of the hearing aid.
The battery charger may further comprise a first latch mechanism for locking the connector in its charging position and a release actuator for releasing the first latch mechanism allowing the connector to move from the charging position to the idle position.
The battery charger may further comprise a second latch mechanism for locking the connector in its idle position, the second latch mechanism being released upon insertion of the hearing aid into the connector allowing the connector to move from the idle position to the charging position.
The connector may be pivotally mounted on a shaft in the battery charger.
The battery charger may further comprise a charging controller that is adapted for detection whether the battery in a hearing aid positioned in the charger and connected to the first electrical terminals is a rechargeable battery or a non-rechargeable battery.
The controller may be further adapted to control the power supply in such a way that the power supply does not supply power to a non-rechargeable battery.
The controller may further be adapted to detect whether a rechargeable battery in the hearing aid positioned in the charger in a position ready for charging is defect and further adapted to control the power supply in such a way that the power supply does not supply power to a defect battery.
The controller may further be adapted to supply a current to the rechargeable battery as a predetermined function of time in such a way that the battery is charged to its full capacity in a minimum amount of charging time. Typically, a rechargeable battery for a hearing aid requires 5-10 hours charging time for charging the battery to its full capacity. The charging is advantageously performed during night when the hearing aid user is sleeping and does not require the hearing aid.
Preferably, the battery charger is adapted for simultaneous charging of two batteries accommodated in two respective hearing aids positioned in two respective hearing aid connectors in the battery charger so that a hearing aid user requiring a hearing aid for both ears can recharge both hearing aid batteries without requiring two battery chargers.
The controller may further store various predetermined functions of charging current as a function of time for selection by the user. For example, one function may be available for charging of a rechargeable battery in a minimum amount of time, e.g. only partly to its full capacity, such as to 75% of its full capacity. Typically, a rechargeable battery for a hearing aid requires 1 or 2 hours to be charged to 75% of its capacity.
It is desirable for a hearing aid user to bring along extra batteries that are charged and ready for use, should the battery in the hearing aid be depleted during use. In this way, depletion of the battery in the hearing aid will not prevent the user for continuing his or her current activity. Therefore, the battery charger may advantageously be provided with one or more, preferably two, compartments for storing rechargeable batteries. Further, the battery charger is advantageously provided with second electrical terminals positioned for contacting each of the rechargeable batteries in the one or more compartments and connected to the power supply for charging the rechargeable batteries. Preferably, the second electrical terminals are positioned for operational connection with the respective batteries independent of their positional orientation in the compartment.
Preferably, the one or more compartments are positioned in a compartment member that is removably positioned in the battery charger, e.g. like a compartment member that the user can remove from the battery charger and carry along during the day. The compartment member may for example further be adapted for insertion into a key ring for ease of transportation and retrieval by the user.
Thus in a preferred embodiment, the battery charger is adapted for simultaneous recharging of four batteries, i.e. two batteries installed in two respective hearing aids and two extra batteries positioned in compartments adapted for this purpose in the battery charger.
The battery charger may have an indicator, such as a light emitting diode, for indication of a charging current being supplied to a rechargeable battery.
Further, the battery charger may have an indicator, such as a light emitting diode, for indication of the selected charging, e.g. a full charge, or a fast charge, of a rechargeable battery.
In accordance with some embodiments, a battery charger for charging a rechargeable battery which is located in a hearing aid, the battery charger includes a power supply for supplying a charging current to the rechargeable battery, a hearing aid connector for reception and accommodation of the hearing aid, the connector having a set of first electrical terminals connected with the power supply and positioned for connection with the rechargeable battery when the hearing aid is positioned in the connector, and an actuator that is adapted for providing access to the battery for connection with the first electrical terminals when the hearing aid is positioned in the connector.